Vista Ridge Regional
Water Supply Project
Burleson to Bexar Counties, TX
At 142 miles, the length of this mammoth water supply project is akin to the distance between Austin and East Houston – or one-fifth the length of Texas. At the time of completion, Vista Ridge was the largest P3 water project in North American history.
Pape-Dawson was responsible for overall program management including design, stakeholder coordination, land acquisition, environmental assessment, permitting, and construction administration. The entire program including development, engineering, and construction was completed in an amazing 5 years.
Vista Ridge has garnered international praise for industry excellence, including North America Water Deal of the Year by IJGlobal and Project Finance International, and Water Deal of the Year by Global Water Intelligence of Spain.
Areas of Expertise
water resources
The Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project included 142 miles of 54” and 60” pipeline moving 50,000 acre-feet per year from Burleson County to Bexar County. The project consisted of 18 wells pulling from two different aquifers and three pump station facilities. The pump station portion of this transmission project consisted of three booster stations, each with three VFD pumps capable of pumping 44 MGD over a 700’ elevation difference. Design and construction for each pump facility incorporated one Type III prestressed concrete ground storage tank (4 MG) with space planning and piping configurations to support a second tank in the future as growth in flows occur. A single 10 MG Type III prestressed concrete ground storage tank was designed and constructed at the terminus point in San Antonio. Yard piping varied from 24” to 60”, with a site plan incorporating layouts to maximize efficiencies in pump station piping hydraulics, simplifying pump design, electrical design, service and maintenance, and traffic flow through the sites by anticipated equipment and personnel.
Project Type
Project Sub-Type
Water Supply
Infrastructure Design
Program Management
Our team served as the Program Manager for all aspects of Vista Ridge, including negotiation, coordination and oversight of multiple consultants, design criteria manuals, QA/QC control manuals, project management manuals and requirements, permit applications, submittals, document control, and detailed design documents. Our team managed 16 pipeline packages, four facility packages, wellfield coordination, construction administration, and start-up and commissioning plans.
The program was successfully delivered on-time and on-budget in April 2020 to provide 20% of San Antonio’s water needs for the next 30 years.
Conception to construction completion in 56 months included:
- Land acquisition of 511 parcels for public water infrastructure
- USACE, USFWS, and THC permitting approval
- Design of pipeline, well field, facilities
- Construction Management of pipeline, wellfield, facilities
- Startup and commissioning of project
Project Type
Project Sub-Type
Program Management
Environmental
Pape-Dawson led comprehensive environmental services for the Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project, including jurisdictional waters delineations, endangered species habitat evaluations, cultural resources coordination, and hazardous materials assessments. A Pre-Construction Notification (PCN) was submitted to USACE, which included formal Section 7 consultation with USFWS to address potential impacts to the Houston toad, golden-cheeked warbler, and federally listed karst invertebrates. Section 106 consultation with the Texas Historical Commission was completed for 451 parcels.
Phase I ESAs were conducted along the full alignment. Where recognized environmental conditions were identified, Phase II ESA investigations were performed, involving soil borings, temporary monitoring wells, exploratory trenches, and hand-auger borings. One closed, unpermitted landfill located within the alignment required Subchapter T permitting through TCEQ. Pape-Dawson’s geosciences team managed this effort, including the development of four soil and groundwater management plans based on laboratory results to guide segregation and handling of impacted materials during construction.
Environmental support continued through the construction phase, with the team providing monitoring services to ensure regulatory compliance. Pape-Dawson facilitated mitigation strategies, agency coordination, and contractor guidance throughout implementation to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources.
Project Type
Project Sub-Type
Hazardous Material
Compliance and Remediation,
Natural Resources
Surveying & Geospatial
Our survey team established the horizontal and vertical control points by GPS methods and used them as the basis for the subsequent aerial mapping, boundary surveys, and construction staking for the entire project. We conducted individual boundary surveys of the easement tracts and prepared survey drawings and metes and bounds descriptions for each.
Project Type
Project Sub-Type
Water Supply
Infrastructure Design
Land Acquisition
Pape-Dawson managed acquisition and all aspects of landowner coordination for the 142 miles of water transmission line and 6 miles of well collection system. The project involved over 4,900 landowner touchpoints for the efficient execution of survey, environmental, and geotechnical work needed for the project.
Overall, Pape-Dawson evaluated more than 550 parcels, resulting in 511 easement acquisitions. Our team oversaw and managed the entire process, including coordination of right of entry, surveying, land acquisition agents, appraisals, negotiations, eminent domain assistance, and attorneys. All easements were successfully acquired without a single condemnation case going to District Court.
Highlights:
- 35 miles acquired in 5 months
- 120 miles acquired in 12 months
- 140 miles acquired in 18 months
- 2.5% required Special Commissioner’s hearing
- 0% processed at District Court
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